A love that cannot speak its name

I am starting to think I may be developing an inappropriate relationship with my iPod. I miss it when we aren’t together, I think about it when I’m at work, and I can’t wait to get together,

Wikipedia

I think about you all the time. Don’t tell my wife.

just the two of us.

We walk the streets together, sharing those special moments, playing our song(s). Sometimes, and I’d appreciate if you’d keep this quiet, I imagine that we’re in a movie and this is the sound track. Let’s just say that sometimes when you see me, and I look like I’d rather keep the earbuds in than talk to you? I would.

But what’s really deepened our relationship is when I realized how interesting my iPod was, how much it had to say. The two of us get together several evenings a week for a little quality time and we download a few podcasts. Most of them are free on iTunes, you know, and they are the perfect companion on BART. A lot of them run 30 or 45 minutes, or long enough for the whole ride.

We used to get annoyed with the rampaging moron who blabbered on his cell phone for the whole trip. Now we don’t even hear him. Because myPod and I have each other.

Now, what to listen to? Well, we’re so happy together I don’t mind sharing. A couple of suggestions: (Just a warning, you may have to do a search under “podcasts” for the BBC stuff.)

Mark Kermode’s Film Reviews BBC Radio Five Live — Utterly unstuffy and comically opinionated, Kermode takes off on the top movies of the week. He is kept (somewhat) on track by host Simon Mayo. As one reader recently wrote in, the best part of the show is often when Kermode takes one of his hilarious scorched earth stances and then Mayo tries to get him to change his mind. I have just learned that Kermode got a Phd at Manchester University in “horror fiction.” Somehow that makes perfect sense.

Washington Post Politics on the Air — There are lots of political talk podcasts but this one has some life and punch to it. Sam Litzinger prods the guests to say more than they probably intended and there’s an air of we’re-just-talking-over-a-few-beers tone that really works. The only downer? This is a real radio show, complete with commercials for Washington D.C. auto repair shops.

Start the Week BBC Radio 4 — Wait, give this a chance. It sounds a lot mind-bendingly dull than it is. Host Andrew Marr picks a topic and then brings in expert, articulate guests to talk about it. The other day they somehow managed to bring together Samuel Beckett, Orson Wells, and Robespierre. I know what you are thinking: nothing like some good Robespierre on the radio. But honest, it was really interesting.